The Fifth Assassin by Brad Meltzer

I’m about a week late in doing this review and had to turn the book back into the library so I’ll probably make some errors of omission and forgetfulness. Sorry. As best I can tell, this is the third in a series with a lot of plot carryover from #2, The Inner Circle.

The story revolves around a staff member or three of the US Archives. Beecher White has been newly recruited (from his performance in the prior book, I presume) into a shadowy clan of individuals whose purpose is to protect the Presidency called the Culper Ring. This group was originally set up by George Washington and has been operational ever since. Of note is that the ring is to protect ‘the Presidency’, not ‘the President.’

Looks like the prior book, The Inner Circle, had an attempt on President Orson Wallace, killing his wife instead. Now the dead first lady haunts the mind of the assassin Nico Hadrian who is under lock and key at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in DC; home of the seriously insane and deranged.

In a bizarre twist of fates (and almost beyond belief), Nico and daughter Clementine (now cancer-ridden), Beecher, and an investigator for the US Government Accounting Office (Marshall) were all from the same town in Wisconsin. All three fathers served in the same unit during the Vietnam war, and all were somewhat part and parcel to an damning incident back in the mid 1960s.

A serial killer is recreating the four assassinations of US Presidents, obviously headed toward killing President Wallace. Beecher starts to see the pattern quickly and acts to intervene, but gets cut off by the Secret Service, the POTUS himself, Celementine, and Marshall at one point or another. Beecher isn’t crazy about President Wallace and apparently the feeling is mutual (more carry over from Inner Circle, I guess), but is determined to stop the coming attempt on Wallace.

Anyway, Beecher chases a lead to Camp David while the real assassin has tracked the POTUS to the Lincoln Memorial where Marshall takes him down. But there were enough loose ends to guarantee a sequel.

You can probably tell I wasn’t a big fan of the book. I thought the structure of the story used cheap cliffhangers at each chapter. It also needlessly jumped between the doings of the various chapters and from 20-30yrs earlier to the present, such that you might go through 4 or 5 chapters before getting back with whatever character being presented; hard to juggle the various sub-stories. To be fair, I think it might've been better had I read Inner Circle first. Meltzer may have a string of best sellers, but personally, while the story was pretty clever, the delivery was a little too much like cheezy supermarket novels that I tend to avoid, at least I try to.

East Coast Don

Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Continuing my effort to read more books about Russia, I just finished the nonfiction work, Young Stalin. As the title would imply, the primary focus was on Stalin’s life from birth until he came to power, well before his Great Terror when he was responsible for the death of about 1.5 million citizens of his country. In a nutshell, Stalin was a sociopath, paranoid, and a remarkable opportunist. If his life and the history of Russia are of interest to you, then this book will be a good one for you. Otherwise, probably not. It reads more like a novel than a history text.

Montefiore captured Stalin’s early life thuggery when he financially supported Lenin and the Bolsheviks’ rise to power through bank robberies and piracy. The author chronicled Stalin’s multiple arrests by the tsarist regime, his eight periods of exile (one lasting for four years deep in the remote north of Siberia), and his numerous escapes from custody. He was the son of a drunken shoe cobbler who read voraciously and became a published poet.

The author aptly referred to Stalin as having “that rare combination: both ‘intellectual’ and killer.” Near the end of the book, after cataloging Stalin’s early murderous exploits, unbridled sexual exploits (often with young teenage girls), and obvious lack of regard even for the innocents that he killed, Montefiore wrote, “He could not have risen to power at any other time in history: it required the synchronicity of man and moment. His unlikely rise as a Georgian who could rule Russia was only made possible by the internationalist character of Marxism. His tyranny was made possible by the beleaguered circumstance of Soviet Russia, the utopian fanaticism of his quasi-religious ideology, the merciless Bolshevik machismo, the slaughterous spirit of the great War, and Lenin’s homicidal vision of a ’dictatorship of the proletariat.’” Within months of the October 1917 revolution, Lenin and his magnates used their new power to fight and win the Civil War, and thereby cement their control of the country. “It was then that Stalin, along with his cohorts, experienced that unrestrained power to wage war and change society by random killing. Like boys on their first foxhunt, they were blooded by the exhilaration and swagger. Stalin’s character, damaged yet gifted, was qualified for, and fatally attracted to, such pitiless predations. Afterwards, the machine of repression, the flinthearted, paranoid psychology of perpetual conspiracy and the taste for extreme bloody solutions to all challenges, were not just ascendant but glamorized, institutionalized and raised to an amoral Bolshevik faith with messianic fervor.”

The author referred to Stalin as “both man of violence and of ideas, an expert in gangsterism, as well as a devout Marxist; but above all, he believed in himself and in his own ruthless leadership as the only way to govern a country in crisis and to promote a mere ideal to a real utopia.”

Breaking Point by C.J. Box

Breaking Point is C.J. Box’s latest work featuring Joe Pickett, a game warden in Saddlestring, Wyoming.  Joe is a straight arrow.  He lives in a black and white world with a strong sense of right and wrong.  In his work he follows regulations to the letter of the law.  Yet he recognizes government bureaucracies and their political appointees do not always act fairly or in the best interest of the people.  It is here that Joe is conflicted and it’s only a matter of time until he reaches his own breaking point.

Two EPA agents are sent from the Denver office to Saddlestring on a mysterious mission and are subsequently found dead in a shallow grave, killed by gunshot wounds.  Evidence points to Butch Roberson, a local construction company owner as the prime suspect.  The agents were killed on his property and it is discovered that Roberson and his wife were involved in a convoluted dispute with the EPA over the site of the Roberson’s future retirement home.  Even though the property was located in high lands, the EPA declared it a wetlands and was threatening exorbitant fines if construction of the home continued.

Joe and Butch knew each other through their daughters’ friendship.  In fact, Joe had encountered Butch while on patrol in the Wyoming wilderness the day after the murders but before the bodies were discovered.  The local sheriff found the crime scene and proceeded to investigate but soon a wave of federal and state agencies arrived in force.  EPA regional director, Juan Julio Batista shows up to take charge with the FBI in tow.  Governor Rulon shows up to protect Wyoming citizens from the Federal government.  Helicopters and drones are employed to find the fugitive.  Joe is recruited to lead the feds on horseback into the wilderness where he last saw Roberson.

But something didn’t seem right to Joe.  Why was the EPA Regional Director leading a murder investigation and manhunt?  Why was Batista so zealous to kill the fugitive without a trial?  Could Butch be innocent?  Joe asked his wife Marybeth to research Batista.  Marybeth, a librarian with computer access to some little known databases, uncovers a dark side in Batista’s background.  Meanwhile, Batista sends a drone after Roberson and manages to set the wilderness on fire while Butch escaped down the other side of the mountain.  Joe resigns from his job and sets out after Butch as a private citizen into dangerous terrain with a forest fire on his heels.

In Breaking Point Box illustrates how conflict between common citizens and government can escalate out of control.  Heavy handed actions by political appointees can ruin the lives of ordinary people.  Joe Pickett is caught in the middle.  In his work Joe’s strong sense of law and order drives him to dispense the most severe punishment authorized.  Yet when law enforcement crosses the line of his own brand of justice, he pushes back…without regard for personal consequences.  That is why we love Joe Pickett.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid – A Memoir by Bill Bryson

This delightful memoir comes highly recommended by MRB friend Charlie Stella. I’ve learned that if Stella likes it, the book is probably pretty darn good. No exception here.

Bryson is a talented author widely known for his most notable book, A Walk in the Woods, that recounts his laughable efforts at being a through hiker of the Appalachian Trail. ‘Thunderbolt Kid’ is a wonderfully nostalgic look at growing up in the middle . . . in the middle of the country (Des Moines), in the middle of the century (1950s), and born in the middle of the baby boom (1950).

There is no plot per se. Each chapter has a unique theme that each could be considered a short story. Bryson tells us about his family (and his wonderfully ditzy mother), home, neighbors, town landmarks (parks, schools, theaters, stores), the Iowa landscape, farming, dull loser brothers, the neighborhood dork/geek/wizard/girl magnet/future AA member, and lord only knows how many more. Take your pick.

And don't forget to stop in the grocery store with the Kid Corral (a fenced off corner filled with comic books), or the drug store to sneak peaks at girlie magazines, or stealing beer, or faking IDs, or the war zone of middle school, the girls, kid's matinees at the movie theater, blacks on the other side of town, local bully-ers and bully-ees, big brothers, clueless parents, cops, and store owners. How the hell does he remember all this stuff?

For people of a certain age, this helps recall fond memories of when all really was good with America (at least until the Soviets launched Sputnik). For younger people, it lets them in on a secret. It really wasn’t all that bad ‘back when I was a boy’ and sadly, that we aren’t likely to ever experience a time like that again.

If the stats of Blogspot are accurate, this post marks the 500^th review here at MRB. They say the first 500 are the hardest. We shall see about the next 500.

East Coast Don

The Bedlam Detective by Stephen Gallagher

1912 London. Sebastian Becker is a former Pinkerton detective in Philadelphia. But hard times forced he, wife Elizabeth, and son Robert to return to Elizabeth’s home in England. They had to sell much of her jewelry for the Atlantic passage and now live in a bit of a low rent district of London. They chose this specific area to be close to Dr. John Langdon Down who was developing a treatment plan for children with mental issues like that afflicting their teenaged son.

Sebastian’s experience as a detective helped in land a job in the basement of the notorious Bethlehem Hospital; where those deemed insane are sentenced. He serves as the investigator to the Masters of Lunacy, a crown appointment. Sebastian investigates people who are thought to be mentally incapable of managing their affairs, report to his boss who then decides if the person should remain independent or be institutionalized. In some cases, huge fortunes can hang in the balance. As an investigator of the might-be-insane, the locals refer to him as the bedlam detective.

His current assignment takes him to a small coastal village of Arnmouth to see about the condition of a semi-legendary industrialist Sir Owain Lancaster. Once fabulously wealthy, he was working on a way to aim massive howitzers using star navigation. To test his method, Sir Owain thought it necessary to journey to the Amazon. He spent wildly on extravagant materials to lessen the burden on his wife and son and tame the jungle so they wouldn’t have to endure any discomfort.

While on this expedition, his son took ill, then his wife, and in his grief, Sir Owain thought that unspeakable jungle monsters were killing off the native porters and eventually his family. Only he and his botanist survived. On his return to England, Sir Owain’s presentation to the Royal Society was ridiculed, forcing him to sell his remaining holdings in London and retreat to his seaside villa in Arnmouth. Here he lives in seclusion with his personal physician and driver/cook. His lost fortune caused him to dismiss the estate’s caretakers so the property is in rapid decline.  His extended family frets over their inheritance, thus Sebastian’s investigation.

Upon Sebastian’s arrival, the bodies of two young girls are discovered near Sir Owain’s property. The only local detective accepts Sebastian’s offer of help in the investigation. To some, it’s obvious that the mad Sir Owain is the killer. The case brings to light an earlier assault 15 years earlier, but this time the two girls survived. And there were other disappearances between the two crimes.

Sebastian interviews the two survivors, their families, Sir Owain and his doctor, everyone he can find looking for a connection between the old and new crimes with Sir Owain. Gallagher, in the formal, stiff upper lip cadence of life in pre WWI England, expertly took me through Arnmouth and London, presenting Becker’s challenges with his family, life, and job. Hardly a ‘page turner’ I found the pace quite leisurely and enjoyable. While I doubt Gallagher is a candidate for my power rotation, he certainly is a worthy option when I find a gap in my reading opportunities.

East Coast Don

Red Square by Martin Cruz Smith

This was my next novel about Russia, but I never finished it. I just could not get excited about the characters even though the set up was pretty good. In this murder intrigue, Special Investigator Arkady Renko is sent to solve the murder of Rudy Rosen, an underworld figure. As is typical of such books, Arkady has a dark past, having previously worked in Moscow as a Special Investigator, only to get demoted and shipped way out of town. All he had done was participate in the murder of a prosecutor, apparently one who deserved it. So, his tenure back in Moscow is dependent on him being a good boy, but his ethics keep him from toeing the line, especially when his orders seem to prevent him from solving the crime. Of course, his boss is not a good guy, just a Communist party guy. Arkday’s dad was a famous man under Stalin, his “favorite general,” which meant that he had killed lots of people at the direction of Stalin. Despite his father’s numerous medals and his subsequent fame in the country, Arkady was embarrassed by all that his father had done. It was said of his father, “General Renko never surrendered; he wouldn’t have surrendered if he’d had nothing but dead to command.” Arkady was divorced, and he was in lust with a woman that had fled to Munich and was working for a radio station that beamed basic news information and propaganda to Russian citizens. Even giving what I thought were potentially interesting characters, this was a very slowly developing book. I ended up not really caring about them or where this plot was going, so at 2/3 of the way through, I quit reading. It’s disappointing because I was getting some of the geography and current lifestyle info that I was hoping for, and he’s written several books. Too bad. I can’t give this one my recommendation.

Abuse of Power by Michael Savage

I think Amazon promoted this author based on previous searches on their site.

Jack Hatfield was a conservative talk show host on GNT, the major cable news network. The mainstream media went after him and his show by branding him as a bigoted racist for his views on Muslim extremists. He’s stayed in the game by working as a freelance producer with Max (Maxine) his favored videographer.

Jack’s on a routine ride-along with the SF police when they get a call about a carjacking that went south with the car crashing within a block of the heist. The carjacker has been whisked away by the cops awfully fast. The original driver has disappeared.

The area has been evacuated because the random carjacking grabbed a car carrying a bomb big enough to take out a couple city blocks. And the driver was ID’d as being from the middle east. When the bomb squad approaches, the driver, now on the top floor of a nearby building, hits send on his cell phone and detonates the bomb killing the squad’s chief.

The FBI comes in and after a day or two, announces a domestic group from northern California is behind the bombing. The kid carjacker dies of an OD the next day and Jack’s favorite hacker digs up a connection to a London-based Iman so Jack figures that he needs to go to London to further the investigation.

The story takes Jack to Israel to London to Paris as he narrows his focus to an under the radar but very well funded group called the Hand of Allah. Putting pieces of the puzzle together, Jack figures out the target and races back to SF to try and stop what could make 9/11 look like a practice run.

When I went looking for a .jpg of the cover, I quickly learned why the author’s name seemed familiar. He does a syndicated radio show that is 3^rd in listenership (to Limbaugh and someone else). I tend to stay away from books written by pundits and have read nothing by Hannity, Beck, Levin, or anyone of that ilk. I think had I known this ahead of time, I might have passed because I think they put too much of themselves and their biases into the story. In this book, the shadowy group pulling the strings is a Bilderberg-type of power brokers who slip any connections with the plot, but each manage to start to fall one way or another. All because of crusading former conservative talk show host. I wasn’t impressed.

East Coast Don